Daiwa Institute of Japan and small businesses in Germany have offered to help set up small companies in the Ayeyawady Region by undertaking a joint venture with them, the Ministry of Industry has said.

A list of 109 entrepreneurs at Myanmar SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) has been sent to Japan and Germany for business people to assess whether firms in those countries can carry out business matching.

There are over 64,000 registered SMEs in Myanmar, but they face difficulties such as a lack of infrastructure, finance and technology.

The government disburses loans to small companies at an interest rate of 8.50 per cent. Some say the interest rate is too high. But governmental agencies have said the interest rate is no higher than those in other parts of the ASEAN region.

The Ministry of Industry is seeking assistance to help boost small firms from the SMEs development support subcommittee on human resource development and innovation skills. It also wants help with technology development, the availability of finance, infrastructural development, market penetration plus taxes and procedures.